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Brands of Microphones
There are many different brands of microphones out there, here I will list some of the more famous ones and links to their websites. The links take you to a website where their Company websites are linked from. AKG One of the world’s biggest makers of pro and semi-pro microphones, there exists a mailing list on Yahoo that discusses AKG products in general and mics in particular. American DJ Has a few mics intended for DJ or similar sound reinforcement use. This includes the DJM-600 budget dynamic hand held mic, the MC-1 butterfly clip mic and the WR-80 wireless system. Applied Microphone Technology (AMT) Makes small condenser microphones intended for recording acoustic instruments, especially wind instruments. Anchor Audio Has a range of standard and wireless mics for PA usage mostly. Astatic Makes a range of low price microphones, both for communication and musical usage, some of them quite sturdy and practical for this price range. Most of their models utilise a crystal based transducer. Audio 2000's Manufactures a large range of condenser and dynamic mic's for sound reinforcement and recording usage, also has wireless systems. ADK Makes a range of studio microphones. Audio Engineering Associates Makes the R 44 ribbon microphone, a clone of the old RCA 44 mic. Audiomatica Sells 2 precision eletret omni desings intended to de used for audio measurement applications, more info here. Audix Makes low to mid end microphones, more geared towards live sound than recording but few studio oriented models as well. Azden Makes a huge range of mic's much of the miniatures are intended for business, communication and broadcast use, but many interesting designs from a audio/musical standpoint as well. Is a large OEM so you may already be using them without knowing. Beijing 797 Audio One of China's main producer of studio and other high quality recording microphones, both condensers and dynamic types, strangely enough the dynamics have the outward appearance of old Sennheiser mics from the 70's. Some of the best mic's currently made in China but their studio models are expensive. Beyerdynamic Makes a huge range of mics, range mostly geared towards sound reinforcement but also a range of recording mics. This is also the only company that makes ribbon microphones at reasonable prices. Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics (BLUE) Makes some high end microphones that have been getting rave reviews recently, they also restore old mics. BPM Studiotechnik Makes large diagram condenser microphones like the CR-10, all high end & handmade studio quality stuff. Brüel & Kjær See --> DPA BST Sound Has a range of wireless and normal microphones intended for club or sound reinforcement use. Byetone Makes a small range of hand held dynamics, intended for live sound and reinforcement use. CAD Makes studio quality microphones. Cascade Audio Makes omnidirectional mics mostly intended for surround sound production. Carol This manufacturer has a large range of dynamic hand held microphones ideal for sound reinforcement usage, some of their mid impedance Super Caridiod models would make good budget recording mics, at the least the Neodymium based SCM-5266 that has much better audio specification than the rest of the product range and indeed than similar dynamics from other Asian sources. they also have an interesting range of double diaphragm models that circumvent the usual limited frequency range of dynamic mics by having a separate diaphragm for low and high frequencies. C-Ducer Unusual and highly effective contact microphones, actually a thin flexible strip available in a variety of lengths that you can curve around instruments or other vibrating bodies, brilliant for recording in a noisy environment even for instruments that you would never usually apply a contact mic to such as a grand piano (yup, done that, works well). Chaoda Professional Audio Has a range of hand held and sound reinforcement microphones and wireless systems. Charm Makes hand held dynamics. Clockaudio Makes a large range of mics such as lavalieres, gooseneck, boundary layer and similar types intended for sound reinforcement use, but has recently started making handhelds etc... Coby Has a small range of dynamic handheld models suitable for PA or home use. Coles Electroacoustics Makes a range of ribbon microphones that have their origin in the BBC designed microphones from the 50's, the 4038 is a studio version and the ENG 4104B is that famous lip-contact, noise cancelling mic that you can see in use by BBC radio commentators to this day. The 4038 has an exceptionally thin ribbon resulting in a heavenly sound. Core Sound Manufactures miniature binaural microphones mostly intended for use in live gig recording etc. but location sound nuts should also take a look. Crown Audio Makes a large range of microphones for sound reinforcement purposes along with their famous PZM studio mics. Countryman Associates Makes a miniature lavaliere microphone along with headset mics and the like. Dirk Brauner This German craftsman is currently making hand crafted studio mics such as the Valet Voice and the VM-1 to critical acclaim, these are all large diagram condensers. DPA Took over the microphone manufacturing arm of Brüel & Kjær, these are easily the most transparent mics made in the world today, and some of the most costly as well, but since they are really all omnis at heart not really suitable for all purposes. Originally designed for scientific and measurement purposes they are also popular with loudspeaker manufacturers for product development and testing. And as with all good microphones clones are staring to appear left, right and centre, some of them claiming to be the originals :) Owners and other fans should note that there is a mailing list on Yahoo dedicated to discussing those microphones. Earthworks Makes high quality omnis that are not unlike the DPA mics in design concept. Esoteric Audio Research - Yoshino (EAR) Makes the EAR Valve Microphone, an oddball studio condenser that marries the fab Milab capsule with valve electronics. Elation Makes studio microphones. ElectroVoice Makes a range of microphones intended for use in sound reinforcement applications but they do find their way into the odd studio. Also has a range of wireless mic's. Enping Tianlong Makes a fairly large range of dynamic microphones including quite a few wireless models, and in a variety of configurations inc. hand held, gooseneck and a variety of consumer type setups. Fairly cost effective. Faioe Makes budget dynamic hand helds. Feitu Makes an assortment of microphones for sound reinforcement use, both standard and wireless. Felio Manufactures condenser mic's exclusively, that includes some small diaphragm models for hand held and discreet usage but most of their products are large diaphragm models intended for recording work and that includes a few valve driven models. Gemini Has a range of mics intended for club and sound reinforcement use, quite a few wireless models as well. Groove Tubes Makes a small range of capacitor microphones for recording/studio use. Gold Yet another Chinese microphone manufacturer, this time with a broader range than usual and has a variety of dynamic and condenser microphones for both musical and sound reinforcement usage, including wireless models. GP Industries Has a small range of mics but is probably better know for their wireless microphone systems. Haitian Although this manufacturer is mostly making inserts and functioning as an OEM they also have a range of hand held mics under their own name, including wireless models. Hama Makes the usual handheld budget dynamic mics and additionally a range of cheap electret condensators geared towards home movie making, including a stereo model. Hebden Sound Makes custom studio and voice microphones in addition to some standard capacitor models. Inter-M Has a range of condenser and dynamic mics intended for sound reinforcement, more info here. In-Young Has a large range of dynamic hand held and tabletop mics, these are intended for PA and karaoke use rather than for recording etc.., also has a range of wireless mics for similar applications in mind and a couple of long range microphones (non parabolic). JB Systems Makes a range of mics intended for DJ, club and sound reinforcement use, mostly budget types. Jinin Mostly an OEM manufacturer of microphone inserts for other manufacturers and the parts market, but also supplies handhelds and wireless systems under it's own name.. Jinjue Manufactures dynamic hand helds and wireless microphone systems. Jinque Not to be confused with another Chinese brand, Jinjue (as above). Interesting... as every other Chinese manufacturer they have the usual lot of hand held & wireless dynamic models but more interestingly they have a mic that goes by the (terrible) name of Brainpower, that has sibilance reducing electronics inside. This is an excellent idea, especially in sound reinforcement were out and out sound quality is perhaps not your ultimate aim, and having sibilance detection and correction in the mic rather than later in the chain is a very practical solution. Wonder why we haven't seen this kind of a product from the western manufacturers. Joe Meek Has at the least on model of a condenser studio mic. Joseph Audio (China) Makes low end hand held microphones and wireless microphone systems. JTS Their NX series of minuscule music and recording mics are interesting and apparently much better than the average Taiwanese junk. Kalaier Makes budget dynamics including wireless models. KEL Audio Design Makes the HM-1 recording microphone. K & K Sound Systems Has a range of microphones and pickups designed for the recording of acoustic instruments. Kunhong Makes a range of microphones, note that there is no info on them on their homepage. Lane Makes dynamic and electret hand held microphones mostly budget stuff. Line Audio Design Makes a range of unique miniature condensers but has also recently added studio condencer microphone to the fold, those utilise a unique triple membrane design. Marek Designs Makes the RS1 which is a high end recording condenstor with switchable pattern responces. MB Has a range of microphones, including models intended for recording and sound reinforcement and some high end electrets. Microtech Gefell The original George Neumann company operated in 2 locations in i Germany before WWII and while we all know and love the Berlin company that became famous after the war, fewer know that a part of the company was on the eastern side of Germany and continued operating independently after the split of the country, while it sold their products in the east bloc under the Neumann name they exported to the west under the name of Microtech Gefell and later changed the name of the company to that. Interestingly they continued to develop some of the same capsules that their western counterparts did, but along other lines. Currently manufacture a line of studio and measurement microphones ranging from fairly budget models to top of the line models. The M-G fanclub has a mailing list on Yahoo. Microvox Makes specialised mics for acoustic musical instruments. Milab Has a range of high quality recording and sound reinforcement microphones and has recently added high end omni mic's for voice applications, also has a range of rugged electrets intended for use were you would normally use a dynamic mic. Most of them feature a unique rectangular capsule but some of the condensers feature a more familiar circular one. Mipro Specialist manufacturer of wireless microphones, has some very advanced wireless systems. Neumann Makes a large range of microphones, these are fairly expensive units intended for use in recording studios. Their larger units are legendary for both sound quality and construction. Nevaton Makes a line of large and small diaphragm condensers intended for the studio market, but also has some other interesting models such as the MK 403 boundary layer condenser mic, a somewhat unique design. Norsonics Has a range of instrumentation and measuring microphones. Okayo This Taiwanese communication specialist manufactures wireless microphone systems intended for use in sound reinforcement situations. The wireless systems are available in a variety of integrated versions and a modular system for those that need to integrate them into custom products. The microphones themselves are all dynamic as is to be expected for the application they are designed for. Oktava Has a range of some very cost effective and excellent sounding studio microphones, the build quality has not always been excellent but the price has more than made up for that. Omnitronic Has a range of mics intended for club, live and sound reinforcement use including a few wireless models. Pearl Mikrofonlaboratorium AB Makes a range of studio microphones using their unique capsule. Panasonic Has a small number of consumer mics intended for home & video recording R-PVK45 model is a budget hand held omnidirectional mic, the R-PVK18 model is a low budget omni intended for voice recording. They also make 2 low cost tie clip microphones the stereo R-PVC 200 and the mono R-PVC 150. You should also note that the company manufactures a range of microphone inserts, more info on them here. PASO Sound Has a range of dynamic mic's intended for PA applications, available in wired and wireless variants. Pearl Mikrofonlaboratorium AB Makes high quality recording microphones. Phonic The company has been putting less emphasis on their microphone modes lately in response to the influx of cheap competing products from China and they do not even have any technical info on their homapage anymore. All of their models have a dynamic element, are fairly keenly priced and are more intended for PA and live usage than recording but the range includes the UM95, UM97 and UM98 handheld models and the gooseneck UM93. Prefer Makes a range of hand held condenser and dynamic microphones intended for sound reinforcement use. Professional Sound Corp. (PSC) Has a small range of mics intended for broadcast/PA use including headsets and lavaliere models. Royer Makes a small range of ribbon studio microphones. You can read a nice review of their 121 model by SOS. RTT Makes a range of mics, mostly studio models. Røde Has a range of fairly cost effective studio microphones, mostly large diaphram models but a couple of smaller condensers have been introduced recently including a stereo model, their most interesting model is the NT2000 model which is a large diaphram recording mic with fully variable polar pattern, high-pass filter and pad responses. Sanying Makes a variety of budget hand held microphones, also wireless versions. Schertler Makes specialised microphones and pickups designed for the recording of acoustic instruments. Schoeps One of the German microphone pioneers, but their best known mics are the modular models. Sennheiser Makes a wide range of microphones ranging from cheap consumer units up-to expensive professional units. Shure Inc. Has a huge range of microphones, mostly dynamics intended for sound reinforcement use but you'll find almost anything in their catalogue. Singvox Makes budget multimedia microphones, plus inserts etc... SM Pro Audio Has a small range of cost effective microphones including the MC01 large diaphragm condenser along with the more standard EM280 electret and EM9600shotgun mics. Sonic Studios Makes a miniature microphone called DSM along with some accessories, mostly intended for binaural recordings. Sony Makes a range of budget and mid range mics, their forte has always been stereo microphones that the company has choosen to call "Digital" on their homepage for some reason, those are excellent value, but some of their voice/conference models have interesting characteristics as well. Sony also makes hand held, camcorder and wireless models as well. Soundfield The original surround sound microphone, created as a result of research into 3 dimensional sound in the UK in the 60's and 70's that also gave birth to Ambisonics. There is a mailing list on Yahoo groups that discusses the soundfield family of mics. Soundline Makes hand held dynamics and gooseneck dynamics and condensers, along with a range of accessories. Budget brand. Tianquin Technology Has a range of wireless microphone systems in addition to hand held models. Tonsil Makes a few models of microphones but no info on their homepage. Topsound Makes a line of wireless mics and wireless systems. Vivanco Has a range of microphones, some of the better low/mid end mics around, this link is in German N.B., I could not find an equivalent English page. Voice Technologies Makes lavalier microphones. VaTe Makes a large range of condenser and dynamic mics, also wireless systems. Zeck Has a range of microphones for sound reinforcement usage including handhelds, lavalieres, headsets and wireless models. Sonic Studios While only one model is really a proper dummy head they have a number of microphones that are attached to your head in various ways that . Sonic Studios While only one model is really a proper dummy head they have a number of microphones that are attached to your head in various ways that . Thanks to http://audiotools.com/ for providing this list Return to Contents